


Without a Trace

by melissa_42



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-06-23
Updated: 2010-06-23
Packaged: 2017-10-19 04:17:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/196777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melissa_42/pseuds/melissa_42
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This was the price to pay for their safety.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Without a Trace

**Author's Note:**

> Biopunk AU

Three days passed between the first offer and Tsuna’s final decision. He’d been afraid that Reborn somehow knew. That scared him more than anything else, but the Arcobaleno never mentioned anything about the deepened crease between Tsuna’s brows, most likely attributing it to the stress of the upcoming ceremony. He’d also been afraid that Enma would retract the offer because he was taking so long to reach a decision, but when Tsuna quietly gave his answer on the third day while Reborn was out somewhere with Yamamoto, Enma simply scratched Nuts behind the ear and nodded.

“Okay. Let’s go.”

Together they left the room and went downstairs to tell Nana that they were going for a walk. Tsuna nearly broke down in the kitchen when his mother smiled and told him to have fun. Once they were far enough down the street, a choked breath caught in his throat, but he was able to hold the tears in until they were seated in the back of the bus and it finally hit him that this was the last time he would ever see his hometown. Strangers stared as he sobbed into his hands while Enma awkwardly patted his back.

No more Mom, no more little kids, no more Reborn, no more Yamamoto and Gokudera-kun, no more Haru and Kyoko-chan—

 _He hadn’t even gotten to say goodbye._

“It’s better this way,” Enma whispered, and through the haze of grief, Tsuna knew it was true. If he didn’t become the next Vongola boss, his friends and family wouldn’t be in danger. Of course they wouldn’t understand. They would search for him with frightened faces and heavy hearts, but that was the price to pay for their safety.

Tsuna must have cried himself to sleep because when he woke up it was already dusk, and Enma was shaking his shoulder.

“This is our stop,” the quiet boy said, and Tsuna followed him off the bus and into an unknown city. They walked ten blocks through an old industrial park that would have unnerved Tsuna if the weight of determination hadn’t already settled in his chest. By the time Enma finally stopped outside one of the chain link gates, the sky overhead had already faded into an urban night. Tapping a message into his cell phone, Enma stared impassively as the gate slowly rattled open before he led Tsuna across the concrete parking lot and into the seemingly abandoned warehouse. In the darkness, Tsuna could barely make out the form of a man in a long lab coat.

“So this is the kid, huh?” The man grunted as he circled the boys like a vulture. Before Tsuna had a chance to answer, he spoke again. “The lab’s in the basement. Don’t worry, it’s fairly--" he coughed, “ _\--safe_.”

Tsuna knew what the man was implying, and a small part of him wanted to run all the way back home to the warmth of his own bed, but he pushed that thought to the back of his mind.

“You’re sure they won’t be able to find me?” he asked. 

“With my modifications? Not even footprints will be left behind.”

Tsuna nodded, and as Enma silently slipped his hand into Tsuna’s own clammy palm, he knew that he had made the right decision.


End file.
